Chemiluminescent devices are non-incandescent products which produce light from a chemical mixture. The basic chemiluminescent process produces light when two chemical solutions are combined. The solutions are kept physically separated prior to activation. Physical separation typically consists of a sealed frangible glass vial containing a first solution that is placed within a second solution, both of which are housed in a sealed flexible vessel. When the vessel is flexed, the glass vial is ruptured thereby releasing the vial solution wherein the admixed chemical creates a reaction that produces light.
The chemical solutions are generally referred to as the “oxalate” component and the “activator” component. A typical oxalate component consists of Dibutyl Phthalate, CPPO and CBPEA.
A typical activator solution contains Dimethyl Phthalate, T-butyl alcohol, 90% aq. Hydrogen Peroxide, Sodium Salicylate. The components may be separated by a vial, pellet, separating wall, and so forth. Despite the type of separation, the object of these devices is to produce usable light. For this reason, the outer vessel is made of a light-filtering plastic material which permits the light produced by the reaction to pass through the vessel walls.
Numerous patents exist that disclose improvements in the oxalate and activators, such patents extending or enhancing the illumination properties of chemiluminescent lighting devices. The unique lighting effects generated from chemiluminescent lighting devices are enhanced by the inherent optical properties of the containing vessel. The color, clarity and degree of effervescence, if any, serve to add to dissipation of light throughout the vessel wall. Some dyes or coloring agents can be used not only as color filters but as fluorescers. A fluorescent dye functions by converting light of one wavelength to another wavelength. For example, blue light from a chemiluminescent device might be converted to red light by employing an appropriate fluorescer. This red light could be produced even if there was little or no red light emitted by the chemiluminescent device. Most of these improvements strive for producing a brighter illumination of the device. If the vessel is actually made larger, the amount of chemical needed is increased thereby making the device uneconomical. The corners, as disclosed, act as light concentrators to give an enhanced lighting effect but is commercially unviable. Conventional chemical lighting devices are manufactured with polyethylene or polypropylene plastics. Other types of plastics such as vinyl's, acrylics, or such are not compatible with the solvents typically utilized by chemical lighting devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,851 shaped housing having distinct corners that concentrate light. The light concentration creates a fiber optic display-like effect which enhances the visibility of radiated light by concentrating the chemiluminescent light at each corner. The physical act of forming the polyethylene or polypropylene plastic containers described by U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,851 via extrusion or injection molding creates stress lines at the corners needed for the fiber optic effect. Additionally, the chemical light reaction forms, as a by-product, carbon dioxide gas. A normal chemical light device develops an internal pressure of as much as 50 psig internal pressure within 30 minutes of initiation of the chemical light reaction. Consumers will use chemical lighting devices under all weather conditions. Polyolefins that remain flexible at low temperatures (35 F) start to soften and loose physical properties at higher temperatures (140 F). It is very common for a consumer to store a chemical light device in the trunk of their automobile for possible roadside emergencies. A dark vehicle in bright sunlight can have a temperature within the trunk of over 160 F. A consumer activating a chemical light device manufactured per U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,851 and subjected to high temperatures would experience product failure, the stress lines resulting in the splitting and leaking of the container.
What is lacking in the art is a chemiluminescent device that enhances the illumination properties of chemiluminescent devices while reducing the weight, cost and rigidity of the device by altering the shape of the vessels.